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Ear Tips and Tricks

By: Susan Carte

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If you don't have a pair of ear plugs, next time you're out, pick some up. Then wear them for awhile. It won't take long to discover that when you can't hear very well, everything you do becomes a little bit more difficult. Even something as simple as a conversation can be a strain. You would not be able to listen to the radio, and enjoying an evening of television is a monumental task. You even have trouble hearing small movements throughout your home. You don't hear the doors close, timers going off, nor air conditioners turning on.

This is what it's like being isolated because of hearing impairment. It is fortunate, however, that the loss of hearing is preventable in many instances. There are two kinds of hearing loss. When you have a conductive hearing loss, sounds are unable to reach the inner ear and be interpreted.

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs as a result of damage to the tiny fibers located either in the inner ear, the healing nerve, or the brain itself, and although sound has entered the inner ear, the signal has been restricted or misunderstood because of the damage. A common side effect of sensorineural hearing loss is continuous or sporadic ringing or buzzing in the ears, known as tinnitus. For many, tinnitus is more of a problem than a loss of hearing. It takes a physician or audiologist to determine which kind of hearing loss you are suffering from. They will use a combination of your health history and diagnostic exams. Your diagnosis will be confirmed by a hearing test.

If the issue is conductive hearing loss, the treatment can be as simple and painless as removing wax build-up from the ear canal, or can be as involved as surgery on the bones in the middle ear. Instances of sensorineural losses will require treatment ranging from digital hearing aids to cochlear implants.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to leave the area or put in ear plugs if you need to raise your voice in order to talk to others over the background noise. The Baby boomers who grew up with really high powered rock and roll music are finding themselves paying for that now. Those of us who have served in the armed forced or just have experience shooting guns without ear protection also have hearing loss. Exposure to motors, machines, munitions and music leads to long term hearing damage. By the age of 55, it's been stated that 20% of adults have some hearing loss, and by age 65, it will have affected 33%. Normally, any hearing loss associated with aging will not cause total hearing loss.

People experiencing a loss of hearing in a single ear may have an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor which interferes with the auditory nerve. These tumors grow slowly, but left unchecked can cause total hearing loss as well as other problems and the only treatment is surgery. A lot of people go through chronic ear infections, including middle-ear infections, mumps, measles, scarlet fever, as well as meningitis. Each and every one of those listed can cause hearing loss and should be treated by a doctor.

The flow of sound to the inner ear can be stopped by anything that block the ear canal. This includes ear wax which is pushed deeper into the ear canal by people who aggressively clean their ears with cotton swabs. Swabs can be used lightly. But if there is a build up of wax, it's a good idea to consult your doctor for advice on removing it safely. There are times when there's extra fluid due to infections or allergies, as well as a hardening of the bones in the middle ear.

Hearing can also be negatively affected by some antibiotics, drugs for treating malaria, heart anti-arrhythmics and even some drugs as safe as aspirin. Hearing impairment can also result from trauma. Our human sound systems can be damaged to various degrees by holes poked in the eardrum, skull fractures, excessive noise like gunfire or fireworks, and pressure-related trauma from underwater diving or airplane cabins. If you're in a situation where you think you need earplugs to protect your ears, wear them. You can wear them while mowing your lawn, target shooting, using power tools, even playing video games or watching loud movies.

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